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It was a pretty significant price, but Senjen supposed that such investments were going to be necessary for them. As confident as Light had been going into it, Senjen knew they got lucky. If that impact had not disarmed that ship, they would have been caught with no way to fight back, and he did not want to rely on lucky breaks for their survival. All there was now was to go get those parts. An armed Human woman escorted them to the entrance into the Tindrel ship. As a precaution, Senjen handed over his ballistic pistol to Light so he would have some weapon that wasn’t his “bang stick”. It was a hard-hitting weapon, true enough, but its low capacity would not exactly be inspiring if they got swarmed.

On that topic, Senjen did at least try to get some more specific information out of the Human about these bugs. Apparently, the ship was found adrift in a newly surveyed system, sans its crew. The woman was willing to share a recording of one of the bugs snatching someone up into a vent. Senjen definitely had a feeling Rodion was underplaying how dangerous they were, but nevertheless, Senjen was not going to be dissuaded just yet. He was dangerous too.

Senjen led the way, and given what they had seen about the bugs, he did his best to avoid drawing too much attention if he could help it. He was not sure what kind of senses these things might have, but if they were going to run into them, then he wanted to at least try to get the jump on them. He had his pistol in hand, and every sensor his body possessed looking out for the creatures. Especially in the vents.

This new Myrmidon frame of his had nice, smooth joints that hardly made a sound in motion, so Senjen could keep quiet on the move. Unfortunately, Light’s suit was not nearly as...new, nor capable to begin with. Senjen guided him as best as he could, but the sounds it made slamming against rock or metal whenever they had to climb stood out. Fortunately, Senjen heard the movement nearby, so they were not completely surprised when two of the bugs emerged. From the vents, of course. They had a grey-white carapace, long, stilt-like legs, and a collection of huge tentacles emerging from their backs, and of course, they were already right upon them.

Senjen’s quick reflexes had him firing a shot before Light could blink, metaphorically. It wasn’t his best shot, unfortunately, as it was a glancing blow. The plasma bolt burned through part of its carapace and gave it a significant flesh wound, but one of its tentacles was still lashing straight at his arm, trying to get a grip. Senjen did not even think; he just reacted. Training had him deflecting the force of the blow, and fortunately, that still worked on a tentacle. It scratched the paint on his shoulder, but otherwise shot past him. And his reaction to that, too, he die not have to think about. The tentacle was there, and he grabbed it quickly, yanking it straight out of the vent. The fingers on his other hand he held together, claws extended, to jab them straight through the center of its body. The carapace might have been tough, but not tougher than tungsten-alloy claws.

Dealing with the other ended up being much more...straightforward. Light had his rifle ready too, and the shot he fired at the second one found its mark. Despite its limitations, the bang stick was effective. It went through center mass, and immediately obliterated anything that might have been considered a torso. It also let out a booming sound loud enough to damage the hearing of an organic, echoing down the corridors of the ship.

If they had not been in a hurry already, they were now in a race against time. They knew what they were looking for and roughly where it was. Thankfully, that much had been true, and the parts were just where they had been told to search. Light carried them in his suit while they made their dash for their escape. They took a slightly different path back, through the stream bed in the ship’s central canyon. They tried to keep low and quiet, but most of all were just trying to move quickly. Inside of a gravity well, Tindrel ships could be difficult to navigate for those who were not adept at climbing, as the Tindrel did not care much for ramps or stairs. It was not much of an issue for Senjen, whose claws could grip the walls with ease. Light, though, did not have a suit that did him any favors. He had a hard time adhering to the walls, and more than once, Senjen had to stop to help pull him up. They still made decent time, despite it, but not decent enough to avoid two more of the creatures finding their way in front of them.

This time, the creatures were farther away, partially obscured in the vents that they seemed to like so much. Senjen held his pistol out straight and took a bit longer to line up his shot this time, as the shot would have a hard time burning through the rock if he hit the walls. That care was rewarded, as the shot hit right of center, burning through its body. The screech it let out was horrifying, but nevertheless, it was no longer moving. Meanwhile, though, Light’s shot was not as accurate this time. It struck part of the stone and metal wall of the vent, rather than the bug. Stone fragments scattered through the air, but nothing that harmed the creature. It lashed out with a pair of tentacles at Light. They were farther away than the first ambush, but their tentacles were alarmingly long. One of them slapped against Light’s gelsuit, but the gel took the force and moved along with it, and Light’s own tentacles helped to force out the intruder in his suit with a negligible loss of gel. Senjen moved a bit closer and took careful aim once more, and once more, his shot burned through its center mass. He could still see the both of them writhing around in the event, but whether they were still alive or just going through death convulsions, the effect was the same. Senjen and Light had a clear path out the exit, and they quickly took it.
Again, Senjen matched the energy of the Human’s laugh. “Well I doubt they’re completely harmless, but anyways, for the scarab turret option, what about eighty-five million, but we grab the parts and handle the installation and repairs ourselves?” He asked. Jess did not have weapons like this to sell...that he knew of, but he figured that she would be more than able to handle the repairs. Seeing as her neck could personally be on the line in future jobs, she would probably be inclined to do the repairs, at the very least at a discount.

At the same time, Senjen messaged Light privately. ”Can you handle an expense of 85 million right now? If not, you should probably just chime in and say you’ll take the 88-T. It’s manual, but there is targeting assistance. I can try practicing with it. I know we can handle 20 million.”
This time, Senjen took a bit of time to think. He had a feeling that Rodion was not the type to give anything away for “free”. If it sounded like that was what he was offering, then it probably meant the service they would be providing would be worth more than the turrets. Still, everything on offer was expensive, and being able to save some money here could give them a good boost, financially.

“Okay, I think I see what you’re going for here. I’m taking a guess that those pests infesting the thing are keeping you from being able to scavenge the rest of it. Getting the parts probably requires clearing the infestation, so if we do that, we get the turrets, parts, and repairs as payment. Before I can agree to that, I’d like to know what exactly it is doing the infesting.” Senjen questioned.
Senjen’s initial reaction was to be defensive. “Hey, I’m a good shot. I know I can...well…” It did not take long for him to start to hesitate. By any measure, he was actually a good shot with pretty much any kind of small arms, but ship-mounted weapons were a whole other beast. It was not as much about reactions and precision movement as it was being able to essentially operate one of the ship systems. It was a very different skillset, and if he cared about his survival, then it would probably be wise to admit that he could not just pick it up like any other gun. “I can...probably admit I am interested in something automated, though.” He said. He likely would have sighed, if he could.

“Okay, okay, let’s say we were interested in Scarabs. You said they have some issues, right? What does it take for us to get those on our ship?” Senjen asked. His translator was not set up to pick up whatever it was they were speaking, but the shouting did draw his attention up to the ship they were deconstructing. In the background, he set his translator to listen and find a patch to download.
Senjen did not respond immediately. He took some time to inspect the blueprint he was shown and try to see if he recognized what he could about the design, or what the Human said about it. Manned turrets were cheaper since they did not need a sophisticated fire control system, so that’s what he had shown them. This one, based on the specifications, would be able to damage threats in about the same class as their own ship. It probably would not be punching up anytime soon, but it could be a threat to smaller ships. Frankly, he he thought it was a good sign. The turret was pretty much exactly what they asked for, so the Humans did not seem to be trying to cheat them.

“Hmm, not a bad turret. It’s manned, but we can work with that. How’s the fire control assistance? I can link in directly for targeting, but that does require the software behind it to be decent.” Senjen asked. Even most manned turrets had targeting assistance for the gunner, but much like the weapons themselves, the quality could be uneven between manufacturers.
Altogether, Rodion’s business was a lot like Jess’, only on a significantly larger scale. They both scrapped and modified ships, and dealt in ship parts, but this Rodion had actual, living employees instead of just mindless machines. Not to mention it being a significantly larger property. Senjen had always thought Jess was talented enough to grow her business into something like this, but now, he wondered if that would even be her goal to begin with.

Senjen had not actually met Rodion before, but he was quick to adapt. He stood, relaxed, and met this Human with the same energy he greeted him with. He shook the Human’s hand and chuckled. “Heh, well, the ‘latest Myrmidon gear’ might make that a bit difficult. It’s got a lot of spring in its step.”

“Anyways…” Senjen’s gaze started to wander, looking around at the parts the workers were scavenging for anything interesting. “Space out there feels like it’s getting more dangerous by the day. We’re looking to arm Light’s ship. Something that will be useful despite it’s lack of mobility. I’m thinking maybe a turret with a good field of view?”
Senjen let out a laugh. “We’re not copies of specific Utaysi. Our minds just have the same structure.”

As clunky as the translation might have been, Senjen was caught off-guard by Light saying something that was very...right. Generally, the QV’s idea of socialization was very unique, to put it mildly. Both they and the Tindrel had natural psychology that were more different from the likes of the Utaysi, Tekeri, and Humans, so there was a fair bit of advice that would not translate particularly well between them. To Senjen, Light was making a rare bit of sense here. Someone who was immortal like him might have a different idea of patience than someone who was not, and that was something he should probably keep in mind. Still, that did not automatically mean it was a bad idea.

“I mean...yeah, we travel, but we’re not usually away for that long at a time. Besides, this situation of ours might not be a permanent one. Think about it, we make enough money, pay off debts, invest it wisely, and it might not be too long before we’re not the ones going out there and doing these runs ourselves. Money runs Korit, and if we get enough of it, then we’ll start moving up the ladder. We’ll be cautious and avoid getting caught stepping on the toes of any big corporations.” Senjen stood up, walking a few paces away from the ship. “Really, we don’t have to be stuck here forever. Skill I know we have, but we need ambition too. I know I have it; do you?”
“You mean about her, or in general?” Senjen asked, though he supposed the answer did not really matter. Neither would be surprising. It did not seem that many other species expected machines to have any thoughts towards romance. Admittedly, he had thought that Light would know better, but he could not remember if he had ever told light about that aspect of his people. “Our minds came from organics, remember? We’re not just programs any more than you are.” He stopped and thought for a moment. “Or maybe we are, and you’re all just organic programs too? Either way, I’m perfectly capable of thinking Ruk is...the best. I figure I can at least ask, right?”

The thought of Light trying to date Jess actually made Senjen laugh for a moment. “But, uh, Jess...I doubt it. Always felt like the greatest love in her life was her business.” Senjen leaned back a bit and looked up towards the sky, trying to imagine which direction it was that last job had taken them. “Hmm, guess we know why now, though.”
“I definitely think it’s worth the effort to add.” Senjen answered. “We might not be so lucky next time. We need to be able to protect ourselves. As for which one, well...I don’t think we need to skip out on this. If we end up needing it, then we need it to work well. I say you pick the one that gives us the better, more reliable weapon. I don’t care which one costs more. If we have to do favors for it, or just pay, either is fine, but I want the weapon to work well. When it comes down to it, we’re not going to be caring about much else when it actually matters.” He said, confident in his reasoning.

Senjen looked out over the city and mimicked as if he were stretching his muscles. “Anyway, I guess I’ll look into the job board too. If I can make decent money, then it will help me get this paid off quicker. I’ll have to be careful about the kind of jobs I take, but...progress is progress. I’ll also need to make sure to do that ad this month. Probably with my FGC work; that kind of thing is good PR for any company, so I’m sure they’ll love that.

With another look over to Light, Senjen changed the subject again. “Do you think I should ask Ruknar on a date?”
“Hmm, maybe be patient with it, I would say? I mean, you don’t have anything rushing you to spend it, so you can take some time to think about it. I know I had been planning this upgrade for a while.” Senjen said, tapping a hand against his chest. “But, that said, I do like upgrades. The better your suit, the tougher jobs you can do, and the safer you’ll be doing them. I feel like this frame is an investment that will make me more money in the long run.”

Senjen turned his head back, looking up at the ship behind them. His thoughts went back to the job, and especially what had happened near the end. “Although...if we’re going to keep using this ship, maybe it would be a good idea to arm it? I know you handled it this time, but this ship isn’t good at running away either, so if that had not worked...well, I don’t want to think about it. I was afraid, I’ll admit. We were in danger and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t fight back; just had to wait and hope. Hate that feeling.”
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